Rituparno Ghosh, the unforgettable influence in Indian cinema

Rituparno Ghosh, the unforgettable influence in Indian cinema

Rituparno Ghosh (1963-2013)

I recently watched two of Rituparno Ghosh's films, Memories in March and Chitrangada. And I was pretty much stunned after watching them. Here is one man who, more or less single-handedly, lifted the standards of modern Bengali cinema to a level that continues to have us bedazzled, by its sheer splendour and artistic merit. For those of you unfamiliar with Ghosh, he was one of the best film directors of the recent times, up to his sad demise last year at the tender age of 50. What amazes me the most about this radical personality is that, he never hoped to follow the standards or norms of the society, as you might say. In his own way, he was a sort of rebel, someone who wanted to break free the chains of moral confinement that the modern society at large has cursed us with.

In some of his last films, the recurring theme is sexuality, especially homosexuality. This is a topic which is, somewhat ignorantly, kept out of our sight by our elders. The traditional, conservative Bengali society, a subset of the much larger north Indian culture, shares a common mindset regarding this. Sexuality is something that should always be hushed and kept out of sight. Or else, our youngsters might get corrupted because of it. And the same goes for homosexuality, which is, as per most people in the recent times, a sin against God and nature. 

This is where Rituparno rebelled. Through the powerful medium of his fantastic films, some of which he'd written himself from scratch, he wanted to demonstrate that homosexuals, or gays, are people like you and me. There's nothing abnormal with them, and in fact many of them can be better men than you and I can ever hope to be. In fact, Ghosh himself shines as an immaculate example, a testament to the validity of the statement. Openly homosexual, Ghosh showed no sign of anxiety because of his difference worldview. Yes, that's what I'd call it. The sexual outlook of any individual is one of the elements of the much broader worldview. It's similar to a personal philosophy, a take on life itself, a guiding, effective theory of life which is aimed to generate greater happiness for the individual. This is not something to be ashamed of. 

Mind you, I'm not into homosexuality, nor do I ever hope to be into it. But simultaneously, I staunchly protest against those who'd like to 'crush' the practice itself! There are several real problems to be taken care of, including hunger, an increasing crime-rate, environmental pollution and more. Instead, the glorious moral crusaders, the self-proclaimed guardians of the moral infrastructure of our society, are always bent on eradicating these differences (yes, that's what they are), which they blindly mistake as problems or issues. 

This is what Rituparno attempted to show, through Memories in March (as a writer) and Chitrangada. 

Chitrangada, the immortal saga retold

Release poster for Chitrangada

Chitrangada is influenced by Rabindranath Tagore's famous play of the same name. But unlike the play, which revolves around the life of the Manipuri princess who fell in love with the Pandava prince Arjuna and married him, the film is more about the life of the portrayal of the play by Rudra Chatterjee, Ghosh's character. Rudra is openly homosexual, and he refuses to be ashamed of being so, although his 'problem' (?) is deeply resented by his parents, mainly by his father. Rudra is a well-established director of drama, and his latest offering is Chitrangada. He masterfully crafts it, only to fall in love with the newly appointed drummer, Partho (Jishu Sengupto). So seriously does Rudra take this relationship, that he decides to undergo a Gender Reassignment Surgery (GRS). However, halfway into it, he finds himself dumped by Partho, who falls in for Kasturi, because he "wants a real woman, and not a synthetic one". Finally, Rudra decides to go back to being a male, because he realizes that nothing is permanent, neither our bodies, nor our identities. 

So masterfully has Ghosh directed, screen-played and acted in the film, that I was pretty much spellbound after watching it. In fact, Ghosh's Chitrangada acted as a sort of tonic, a type of pill, that helped me broaden my vision. Already, as a follower of Eckhart Tolle's version of spirituality, I look down upon all sorts of barriers that seek to divide us, be they social, political, religious, lingual or racial barriers. And Chitrangada, in its own way, had opened my eyes. Ghosh had clearly retold the story of the princess. 

Memories in March, a few memories to keep in your heart 

After watching this 2011 film originally scripted by Rituparno, where he also meticulous and impeccably portrays himself as the openly gay Arnab, I felt like I'm experiencing an awakening, in the spiritual sense of the term. Richard Dawkins, one of my heroes in the world of modern science, terms these sort of things conscious-lifters. His idea of conscious-lifters include the Anthropic Principles (weak and strong) for physicists, Darwinian Evolution for biologists and so on. Likewise, loosely basing my use of the term on his ideology, I believe Memories in March (pardon the repeated use of italics, but I guess that suits it well) acted as a social conscious-lifter for me. This invaluable piece of art taught me (in fact, revealed to me) a very crucial fact which I'd somehow missed in my life. That is, gay people are just different so far as their worldview is concerned. On the other hand, they can be as good as any of us, and often they turn out to be better persons. This is something the society fails to understand today.

Ghosh, with Amitabh Bachchan

If they are different in a way that doesn't affect us negatively, why should we act as moral stewards of the social infrastructure and try to fix them? This is what the film revolves around.

The core story of the movie kicks off with the delivery of the news of an accident to the character Siddharth's mother Aarti Misra, and thus simultaneously to the viewer - the news of Siddharth's death in a car accident in Kolkata. Aarti, the lonely mother of Siddharth, is forced to fly to Kolkata from Delhi to collect her son's belongings. Her divorced husband, Siddharth's father, stays in the US and is left uninformed of the incident throughout the film. Here, the masterful use of Dhruva Mukherjee's voice to paint a mental picture, an idea of Siddharth's existence, astonished me to the maximum possible extent. A similar use of just a voice to portray a character has been the recurring theme of CBS's most popular sitcom, The Big Bang Theory. But this bit of work, in my humble opinion, was even harder. Siddharth's idea exists only in the past, relative to the current time as portrayed in the film. Thus, philosophically speaking, he exists only as a memory, in the minds of Aarti, Arnab, Sahana (Raima Sen) and others. Yet, this idea or memory plays a crucial role, it brings Aarti to Kolkata, catalyzes her acquaintance with Sahana and Arnab, helps us discover the homosexuality of her son, and finally turns Aarti and Arban into good friends. A bereaved mother and a heartbroken lover, and the patient, realistic relationship between them, that gradually helps Aarti understand Arnab's position, and thus come to terms with homosexuality.

During the shooting of one of his films

In fact, so beautifully is the movie done, that the viewer gets to feel being a part of it. We turn into passive observers, the silent watchers if you may, as the story gradually unfolds. I've rarely been the witness of such a piece of art. It's a next evolutionary stage in the gradual development of Indian cinema, and I'm spellbound to see how meticulous and impeccably had Rituparno carried out the entire process.

Sadly, he who added to the splendour of these marvelous pieces of art, sometimes as a writer, occasionally as an actor and most commonly as the director, is only a memory in our hearts now. And it is our sacred duty to cherish that memory, and continue contemplating on those pieces of immaculate, invaluable art, through which Ghosh still speaks to us in his own way. Let us share his idealism, let us get a taste of his world-view, and thus come to terms with people like him.

Other movies of Ghosh 

Here we've got a director who excelled in exploring and portraying the realistic development of relationships between us at the individual level. We've got someone who was delighted to paint a pristine picture of emotions, because rightly he realized (and so should we) that emotions are not burdens on our shoulders, they're not something to throw away or despise. Instead, emotions are what had crafted the human society from its early, primitive stage. And hand-in-hand with intelligence, emotional development of mankind is equally important if we ever hope to witness the grandeur of a better society.

Release poster for Hirer Aangti, 
Ghosh's directorial debut

I haven't watched all his movies, but the few which I had had a chance to watch were stupendous to say the least. Sob Charitro Kalponik (All characters are imaginary) stands out as a knight in shinning armor, revealing the formidable might of his film-making. And how shall we even dare not to mention Utsab (The Festival), which so beautifully narrates the story of a family that unites during the few festive days of Durga Puja, only to witness a complex development of emotions that turns the tide of events? Even Ghosh's first offering, Hirer Aangti (The Diamond Ring) is something that in my humble opinion deserves an Oscar. Even today, after 22 years of its making, the Hirer Aangti shines lustrously as ever, emanating the rainbow lights of Ghosh's merit.

His Antarmahal (The Inside Chamber) also touched the hearts of the modern Bengali population. Jackie Shroff, Soha Ali Khan and Abhishek Bachchan, all perform their roles beautifully under the watchful guidance of Ghosh, to build another shinning gem to his collection, and to that of the who repository of Bengali (and Indian) cinema. Chokher Bali, Ashuk and others too have their own places. One thing that deserves special mention, concerning all his works, is the serene, patient and yet fluid way in his his stories unfold. You don't have hi-fi climaxes or mindless fighting, rubbish dialogues or unnecessary emotional melodrama, he just wishes to use the film as a means to convey his message to you. Thus, his films are in their own ways, very relaxing.

Final words

Now that Ghosh is no more, I believe his legacy will continue. Already we have people like Sujoy Ghosh and Kaushik Ganguly, who've taken up the painstaking task of crafting similar films. But Rituparno, someone whom most of us didn't understand when he was still alive, will always remain dear to our hearts. May his noble soul rest in peace, the peace that he had sought throughout his life through his works.

Also, for satisfying the curiosity of the uninformed, here are some more links which can help you learn more about this great personality:

1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rituparno_Ghosh (Ghosh's biography on Wikipedia)

2. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/top-lists/top-10-films-of-rituparno-ghosh/videols/20346015.cms (Top 10 films of Ghosh)

3. http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0315916/ (Ghosh's IMDB Profile) 

4. http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-22712973 (BBC news article on Ghosh's death)

5. http://www.thehindu.com/features/cinema/cinema-reviews/rituparno-ghosh-1963-2013/article4765717.ece (The Hindu's article on Ghosh) 

6. http://www.livemint.com/Consumer/NGQP6dAn14VkftVnA3FBbL/Filmmaker-Rituparno-Ghosh-49-dies-of-cardiac-arrest.html (LiveMint's article on Ghosh's demise)